Just Jeff
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Posts posted by Just Jeff
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I went to NYU for my Master's in Philosophy and Lit Studies, but I was a commuter living in Delware with my uncle
I did really well in grad school. I got a 3.9 GPA, but I feel like my professors were always so busy or nonchalant. To be honest, every time I would email them to make an appointment, THEY WOULD NEVER RESPOND! It's an inside joke here at NYU that if someone emailed a professor with a question, they would respond six months after the semester was over.
I'm graduating next month, and as you might know, I deferred my PhD admission to Temple because it was unfunded. I'd like to go to a competitive school with funding (hopefully), but I need to strengthen my application. One of my weakenesses is probably the LOR.
Should I take classes at NYU in the fall to meet more professors, do well in their class, and establish relationships?
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I think its very telling that you would have to "call" NYU when you've been apart of their department. Surely there is someone there you are friendly with. if i ever have a problem i could just walk into 1 of 5 professors at my current schools office no notice needed. Maybe NYU is a bit different, but its been that way no matter where i've been.
Getting into a PhD program can be as much about stats as it is being likeable. Not saying you arent, but perhaps you just havent networked enough ?
No offense man, but aren't you that angry dude from that chatroom?
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Another idea is to try to look for external funding that could cover the expenses of a PhD
That's definitely a good idea.
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How come you did't get accepted to NYU? also, do you have any research experience? Did you publish your MA thesis?
I have no idea. I am super bummed about it. I don't think I've ever been this depressed before. But I overheard one of the professors saying that NYU rarely accepts its MA students into the PhD program.
I did an independent research paper in college, but I don't think that's enough. I would like to gain more research experience, but I'm not sure where to start.
I actually also want to get my MA thesis on Homer published, but I don't know where to go.
I feel so lost...
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Hey, all.
So, I got into Temple's PhD program in Philosophical Studies with no funding. I actually asked them if I could defer my admission for a year, and they said I had that option.
I'm a grad student at NYU getting my MA in Philosophy and Lit. I'm graduating in two weeks.
Sadly, I didn't get into any other PhD programs, and I feel that it's a bit silly to pay for a PhD. My adviser told me it would be best to defer admission and reapply in the fall.
So, what should my plan be to enhance my application? Here are my stats:
Undergraduate GPA at Rutgers: 3.751
Graduate GPA at NYU: 3.90
GRE Verbal: 155
GRE Analytical: 5.0
GRE Quantitative: 144
Yeah, my GRE scores suck.
I'm planning to try Magoosh and retake the test this August. But here's another thing: I read somewhere on this forum that it would be beneficial to take summer courses at Columbia or U. Penn to meet new professors and somehow establish strong relationships with them. But I'm a bit skeptical on that.What should my next steps be?
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I've heard some pretty good things about Magoosh. It's at your own pace and the prices aren't as astronomical as those of Kaplan and Princeton Review.
Check it out: www.magoosh.com
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Thanks, everybody.
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I think you know the answer to this. You've said it in your original post. You don't want to go. It seems crazy to me to pay shedloads of money for a program you are not overly excited about. So don't do it.
Take the one acceptance as a sign that you CAN get in and try again. If you're really concerned, definitely see if you can defer and do that.
Thank you so much. Gotta have self-confidence now!
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Jeff,
DO NOT GO TO A PHD PROGRAM WITHOUT FUNDING. Do not do it. There are a number of very good reasons to decline your unfunded offer:
First, you may not finish your degree at all. 50% of all PhD students don't, and often they leave the university without their degree after spending more than 3 years in their program. http://chronicle.com/article/PhD-Attrition-How-Much-Is/140045/ Attrition isn't a thing that gets talked about much around here, but it's real and it happens to a lot of people, and not having funding makes it more likely. Second, if you do manage to finish, you're unlikely to find the kind of academic job you want. Tenure-line professorships are disappearing, and the academic job market in the humanities, is dismal. There are plenty of folks with degrees from top programs who can't find jobs and who are scraping by adjuncting for less than minimum wage. Grad school is a gamble that is unlikely to pay off, and the more debt you need to take on to get though, the riskier it is. Cf http://chronicle.com/article/Graduate-School-in-the/44846 and http://chronicle.com/article/Just-Don-t-Go-Part-2/44786
Have your mentors at NYU been talking to you about this? About how often people don't finish? About how bad the job market is? If not, they are failing you as a student, and you should be mad about that.
You might be able to revamp your application for next year, but I don't have any specific advice for you about that (although, looking at the list of schools you applied to, I'm wondering if you were choosing schools based more on location than on best fit with professors, which, if so, is something you could fix). You're worried about what might happen if you don't get in anywhere next year, and I can see how that would be a scary thought. Here's the thing, though--it might be the best thing that ever happened to you. Academia is a mess, and it's going to get worse. The world is a big place, and there are many many jobs you might enjoy and many kinds of satisfying things you could do with yourself. Not getting a PhD doesn't have to be about closing a door, it can be aboout opening a hundred different ones.
Damn, I didn't know that. You're totally right. It's not worth all that debt.
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The poster above gives sound advice. Do you have another job lined up right now or some other opportunity lined up that will help improve your chances next cycle?
If the answer to that is no, then you need to think hard about what exactly was the weakness with your application. Maybe email a POI at a top choice or two and see if they can shed some light on that. Perhaps it was something small or specific which you can address.
Finally, I'm a big proponent for NOT paying for a PhD. To top that off it seems you really don't want to go to Temple. Is there a way to defer your acceptance until next year? In all honestly, I don't think you should pay for PhD especially if that's not a top program or the POI isn't going to open any doors post-graduation. If I were you I would try to figure out what the weaknesses are in my application and try to address those. Worst case get a job that is relevant or do a MS.
Just my $0.02. Best wishes!
Thanks man!
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Somebody please give me some sound advice! I'm going insane....
I got rejected from 12 out of the 13 PhD English programs I applied to. I got accepted to Temple, but with no funding.
I'm an MA student from NYU who will be graduating in a month. I don't want to go to Temple. I feel like I shouldn't pay for my PhD, and to be honest, I feel like I can do better than Temple.
But what if I reject Temple now, reapply for more PhD programs next fall, and don't get accepted anywhere? Should I just suck it up and go to Philly? I reaaaally don't want to!
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I applied to Columbia's PhD program, but I got rejected. I would still like to take some summer courses there. Would this be beneficial to me in the long-run?
Is it a good idea to take summer courses at my potential PhD programs? Would it be a good way to meet the professors and somewhat "network", as my advisor says?
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I'm sorry this is happening to you. I know there are a lot of others here waiting and worrying and feeling the same. I know (from friends and from reading, because I'm waiting for an MS decision right now) that PhD application cycles are special-- you can improve your odds with a great fit, but there usually is no such thing as an objectively great candidate who can expect to get in across the board, like with undergrad admissions. The process is just too idiosyncratic. The good news is that unless two schools are very similar and you portrayed yourself very similarly to both of them, e.g. in your SOP, rejection from one school doesn't imply rejection from another. I think there is a thread elsewhere on here for people who were accepted to a highly ranked school, yet rejected by a lower one, so it does happen.
You definitely should not pay for a PhD. Start applying for jobs if you haven't already, and look into ways to stay involved in your field in case your job turns out to be not so relevant. Even the skills you gain from a less relevant job will help you a lot in putting together a good application (I say this from experience), and the predictable hours won't hurt either. I hope you won't need it, but an extra few months to research programs and think deeply about where you'll fit best will probably also make a big difference.
Best of luck!
Thanks a lot. This helps immensely.
I definitely don't want to pay for a PhD. -
Not being snarky, serious question - what do you want to do with a PhD in Philosophy? Your answer is relevent to any advice we can give you.
I ask this because my guess is that places are rejecting you because you they weren't satisfied with what you provided to them as a 'forward direction'.
It's cool, man. Thanks for your reply. I actually want my doctorate to become a professor. I enjoy research a lot. I did my honor's thesis on Homer, and it's something I want to expand on at the doctoral level.
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Hi, all.
My apologies for the second post, but I decided not to go for Temple. They didn't give me funding for my PhD, so it's really not worth it.
I'm a 24-year-old male about to graduate from the Philosophy program at NYU. I have a 3.90 GPA, and I will have my MA in about a month. I applied to the PhD programs (in my signature), and it's really not going so well. I got rejected from so many of them, and the only one that accepted me (Temple University), didn't give me funding.
I don't want to pay for my PhD, but my sister is telling me that I should go. Would it be best to just wait another year to reapply? I'm really lost and scarred. Lol. I want to know what my Plan B should be.
Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Jeff
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Do you think that the job that you get after graduating will have a starting salary larger than the debt you would incur funding yourself through this program? If not, it is probably a better idea to wait and try again next year
Yeah, NYU cleaned my pockets majorly. I think it's best to wait another year, get it together, and then reapply.
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Oh, that gotta sting.
It's cool. I've been through worse.
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Err, I'm going to jump in and say that formal "research experience" is not all that crucial for PhD admissions in the humanities. Neither are publications, although they help!
If you want to spruce up your CV, you can try applying to some local conferences in your field. However, for admission to a PhD program in English or Philosophy, what really matters is: (1) writing sample, (2) SoP and (3) letters of recommendation.
In my IRL network, I would say that none of my friends/former classmates who got into top humanities PhD programs had publications or RA experience (though several presented at grad student or local conferences). What you want (and what you need) is to really dig into that writing sample and polish it, and get someone with a critical eye to rip apart your SoP.
What are your research interests? The fields of Philosophy and English are interrelated, but different enough that I can't imagine too many projects that could fit comfortably into both. That could have been another problem for you: perhaps the "fit" just wasn't there.
Hope this helps. Good luck!
Thanks so much. This makes me feel a lot better.
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Excellent. Thank you all so much. Definitely something I'll look into.
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what's your field? is a PhD typically funded for your field?
It's a PhD in English. Normally, schools do fund their PhD students for this type of program, but they said they couldn't fund me, but welcome to the department.
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Is your goal to become a researcher or to teach or work in industry?
I am trying to get a bit more information since a phd program is a research degree so im wondering why you are interested in a research degree if you havent tried it out to make sure you like it. If you think that you may want to do research as a career then I definitely recommend getting involved in research now. You can talk to faculty at your school about working with them. I will also be applying to phd programs with a masters degree and most of the phd programs that I have looked at mention that they expect that people with a masters will have publications. For example, I do around 30 hours of reserach a week plus classes. I will probably have 1-2 publications out of this reserach plus I have a conference paper from undergrad. To get the research that is expected for a phd program I think that you will probalby have to do a year or two and try to get a publication or at least some presentations before reapplying. good luck!
Thanks for your reply. I want to be a professor, but I just worry because they say the top-notch candidate has some sort of research experience.
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I graduated from Rutgers in 2012 with a 3.75 GPA, Magna Cum Laude in my field, English and Philosophy Studies.
I went to NYU for my Master's in Humanities and Social Thought, and I will be graduating in May 2014 with a 3.991 GPA.
Sadly, I don't have research experience.
I did get into a PhD program, but it wasn't funded--and it's not exactly one of the best schools as people in the chatroom have told me.So, I'm going to try reapplying next year, but I think I need to spruce up my application a bit more. Now that I'm out of school, how can I get research experience? Publishing? What constitutes a strong applicant?
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It's an unvitation buddy.
Lol. True. Yeah, I guess I'll just wait to reapply. It wasn't exactly my dream school anyway. It was more of a safety school, but there's no safety in it since there's no funding, right?
Can someone help me out? I got rejected from my dream school.
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Don't feel bad. I felt upset when I got rejected from my school too, but it turned out okay. I just got into another great school today.
Your only biggest competition in life is yourself.